Shiksha Ki Ore - The journey

People of Natbasti

Our Success Stories

Anji

Tara devi

Pooja

Rajni

Urmila

Kamlesh Sir

Our Journey

2011

Natbasti

Started going to Natbasti, where kids went to work, unlike others who went to school.

Learning is Fun

Using interactive videos and activities proved to be an eye candy.This motivated the kids to come and learn even after their exhaustive work.

April 2012

First day at school

17 Kids took their FIRST STEP TOWARDS School education. They were admitted to Dhindwa Govt. Primary School. The smiles say it all!!!

November 2012

Painting the class

One of the residents of Natbasti agreed to lend a room to teach the kids. So kids along with us painted the room.

Our Temple of Learning

Mission Accomplished!

April 2013

SECOND STEP TOWARDS EDUCATION

The Govt. School had its own limitations with improper infrastructural facilities and teacher-student ratio, making school life discouraging for the kids. We started exploring all other possibilities to ensure that the spark of education in them doesn’t vanish. Under Right to Education Act (2009)’, 20 kids were admitted to good private schools in Pilani through the 25% quota for socially and economically backward children.

Each One, Teach One

The ones who were taught are now the ones who teach. Some of the elder kids now teach their siblings on their own.

The journey continues...

The journey continues...

Our Team

This is our team Shiksha Ki Ore. We are approximately 20 volunteers. We give evening tutions to Natbasti kids. 3-4 volunteers go daily. One volunteer needs to go twice in a week. We had our morning visits too, but since now all kids are regular to school, we just go once in week and check if the same is happening today. It's very glad to know that kids are reaching there where we want to see them always.

Anji

Were you ever at the top of your class?
Well, if you ever were, you surely know what it takes to achieve that and if you haven’t, then you can understand it even better. But for a kid who was a child beggar to do so within a span of one year, calling it even an accomplishment would be gross understatement.
That is Anji for you. This sweet, brilliant girl took the top honors in her class of 30 students. Hers is quite a story. Before she came in touch with us, she went around begging all day or did some sort of daily wage or household works. She took genuine interest in her studies and was a model of hardwork. Now one year later, trust me when I say, you have to literally slog your brain out if you want to beat her at academics.
Well, enough about her. Unknowingly she caused another ripple, a subtler but more significant one. She changed the mindset of her entire family. Her parents now understand the value of education and are taking keen interest in even her siblings. The people who took her to beg, now take her to school.
Heard of the Butterfly effect? “The flap of a butterfly’s wings can lead to a storm”. Well, this kid sure brought about a revolutionary one in her home.

Tara devi

Who says there is an age for learning???
Many of us might not know the feeling which parents have when kids find a solution for their day to day problems. But Mrs. Tara Devi knew this when her eldest daughter Mulkesh taught her how to dial a number using her cell-phone. Mulkesh is one of the beneficiaries of Shiksha Ki Ore , who decided to choose education over doing household chores and was enrolled in a private school through RTE Act(2009).
When she saw her mother struggle for dialling a phone number she decided to teach her mother her newly acquired knowledge about the digits of mathematics thus enabling her to dial it all by herself. What else can be a better way to show her mathematical prowess? This made her mother realize the necessity of education in today’s world. After this incident, she actively concerned herself with the educational aspect of her children’s life, even going to the extent of personally dropping her children to school while the transport facility was irregular. So it is true – “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world”.

Pooja

This 8 year old was a surprise element to us back when we started. We had never seen such a clever, mature & fast learning child. At times, we had our doubts if she faked her aged. What was even more surprising was the way she used to teach other kids of her age. During March 2012, we remember getting upset over the news of being migrated to another place, but gladly she returned and started going to school. No wonder, she has been rocking in her class till date.
Joined government school in 2012, English medium private school in 2013- she has remained unstoppable till date. She does miss school often, not at all punctual – but that’s generally to take care of her younger siblings while her both parents now work to make ends meet. But despite all our apprehensions, she does manage to cover the topics missed in school by showing the same amount of dedication we’ve seen since Day 1.

Rajni

She was one of the brightest kids since our make shift school days in 2012, usually the first to come. And what's inspiring is, she also brought along a battalion of younger siblings & neighbors to even get them to learn something. In less than 6 months, she had learn’t to write Numbers till 100, speak it till 50, knew the whole Varnamala & Barahkhadi. This 7 year old back then had never been to school because her parents never knew how to admit her. A mothers pet, obedient, always jumping to take up responsibility, quick learner & always cheerful girl was using her potential for nothing but household chores.
In July 2012, she was one of the 17 kids to be admitted to a government school. And boy, didn’t the teachers over there love her. Rain, Cloudy, Hot, Cold – she never had an excuse to miss school. After honing her skills much more for a year in government school, she got admitted to an English medium private school through Right to Education act in 2013. It’s been a year now, she has excelled in her class – scored perfect A’s in all her subjects, now even her teacher’s pet – this alongside still balancing her daily share of household chores.
Ask her when she carries a bucket of water back home from well, what she wants to become – quickly giggles and says; “Officer, tab hi toh paani ka nal aayenga yaha”

Urmila

Urmila, a street smart 11 year old girl from Natbasti, who used to do household chores, help her mother and take care of her younger siblings, is now one among the toppers in her school. Apart from being regular and performing well in her own academics, she ensures that not only her siblings but also all the other kids in her neighbourhood are regular to school as well as the evening classes. She is a confident and an enthusiastic child and she proves it time and again by talking to an audience effortlessly with absolutely no hesitation.
Making note of her responsible nature, we have even come to entrust her with minor responsibilities such as maintaining our room key, bringing the younger kids along with her to evening classes, etc. During the last summer vacations, when we were out of town, she surprised everyone by replacing us and teaching some of the younger kids voluntarily.
We are pleased that we came across such bright and confident minds of Natbasti, like Urmila and that going to school has helped them in more than one way to bring out the best in them.

Kamlesh Sir

Three years back they used to do household chores and roam about their houses without any aim or mission. Now they get up at 6, go to school, come back home and even spend some time in the evening to complete their homework. Such has been the enthusiasm and dedication of the kids that Kamlesh Sir, who recently started teaching the kids in the evening had his mind blown when he met the kids.
We decided that we would take help of some experienced teachers to accelerate their development. So we visited many schools and colleges around Pilani. And after some hard work, we met Kamlesh Sir and Rakesh Sir who agreed to teach the kids. And when asked about this project, Kamlesh Sir shared some of his enthusiasm with us.
Even though Kamlesh Sir started teaching since August 2014, he felt excited by the humble and determined attitudes of the kids. He is confident that within months, the kids will make considerable progress and will be at the same level as other kids in their schools. Even though the teachers are having a new experience teaching smaller age- group kids, they feel that their jobs have been made easier by the hard-working and modest nature of the kids.
Kamlesh Sir feels that the community can also play an active role in the development of the kids. He felt that the guardians were eager to bring about the change in their lives and were happy that their kids are being a part of that change. The idea of community meetings between volunteers, kids and their parents was applauded by him. Community meetings included many events which involved everyone and also included an interactive session with the parents. Kamlesh Sir felt it was essential to maintain an understanding with the parents and also informing them about the progress of their kids.
The Sirs were happy that resources like stationaries, tiffin boxes , uniforms etc. were provided by us to the kids. These resources are essential for any school going kid and their requirements were fulfilled . Provision of these resources enables the children to focus completely on studying. The Sirs brought their professional touch into play when they divided the kids into groups according to their performance levels. They maintained a record of Strenghts and Weaknesses of each kid and started working accordingly. We are beginning to see the results of this strategy. Regular tests are conducted to check their progress. Kamlesh Sir is feeling great in working with the kids. We appreciate the positive reviews given by Kamlesh Sir about the project.